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Donald Trump challenged fierce critics by announcing that he was using emergency powers to bypbad Congress and continue building a wall at the US-Mexico border.
At a raging, ragged and sometimes incoherent press conference at the White House, the US president said he had no choice but to declare a national emergency to prevent illegal immigrants to spread crime and drugs.
Still, Trump admitted he did not "need" to take the step now and only did it for speed. Opponents took advantage of this remark to accuse him of lies and alarmist statements for political purposes, calling it "illegal" and violating the US constitution.
Speaking at the White House Rose Garden, Trump pointed out that the 1976 National Emergencies Act gave presidents leeway to declare an emergency and many have already done so. "There has rarely been a problem," he said. "Everybody does not care, I guess they were not very exciting, but nobody cares, they sign it for much less important things in some cases, in many cases . "
A list compiled by the Brennan Center indicates that Bill Clinton declared 17 national emergencies, George W Bush 13 and Barack Obama 12, but almost all involved crises abroad. Trump added, "We are talking about an invasion of our country, with drugs, with human traffickers, with all types of criminals and gangs."
Trump then asked two women whose family members had been killed, allegedly by illegal immigrants, to stand up and show pictures of their loved ones to the deceased staff and the media. He then recycled the bloody descriptions of violent criminal gangs and warned against a "virtual invasion" that requires urgent corrective measures.
But later, answering journalists' questions, he confused his motives. "I went through Congress. I made a deal. I received nearly $ 1.4 billion while I was not supposed to win one. Not $ 1! He will not win $ 1! Well, I received $ 1.4 billion, but that does not satisfy me … I want to do it faster. I could do the wall for a longer period. I did not need to do that, but I prefer to do it much faster. "
Trump continued, "I do not have to do it for the elections. I've already done a lot of wall for the election: 2020. And the only reason we're talking about here is because of the elections because they want to try to win an election that looks like what they are not going to be able to do. "
The President of the Democratic House, Nancy Pelosi, tweeted, "He admits that it's a #FakeTrumpEmergency. Hear him say, "I did not need to do that, but I would do it much faster."
Admission could complicate future legal battles if, as is generally expected, the statement is challenged in the courts and by states at risk of losing federal money or claiming that Trump is abusing its authority.
The White House said the national emergency would mobilize about $ 3.6 billion from the Pentagon's military construction fund. The executive action will divert about $ 2.5 billion from the Pentagon's drug program and $ 600 million from the Treasury's drug confiscation fund.
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Trump acknowledged the high probability of a legal battle, a battle that he would almost certainly lose in the lower courts. "I'm waiting to be sued," he said. "Unfortunately we will be sued and unfortunately we will follow a process and fortunately we will win."
He continued in a mocking and singing voice: "I will sign the last papers … and we will have a national emergency, we will then be sued and they will sue us in the ninth circuit … and then we will meet at the Supreme Court and hope we get a fair shake and we win at the Supreme Court just like the [travel] prohibit."
Trump's decision was made after weeks of wrangling over his signature campaign promise, which led to a 35-day partial government shutdown, which was politically detrimental and detrimental to his popularity ratings.
On Thursday, in a rare bipartisan event, Congress approved a compromise agreement on border security to prevent a new closure. The Senate pbaded Bill 83-16, while the House of Representatives followed with a count of 300-128.
But the bill spends about $ 1.4 billion on border barriers, well below the $ 5.7 billion that Trump is seeking to fund just one-quarter of the more than 200 miles it seeks.
Many observers suspect that after weeks of debate, Trump had been influenced by conservative commentators from Fox News and elsewhere, who had warned that signing the bill alone would amount to surrender.
In a joint statement, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats, said: "The president's illegal declaration on a nonexistent crisis is a grave violation of our constitution and makes America less safe, stealing defense funds the security of our armed forces and our nation.
"It's clearly a coup by a disappointed president, who went beyond the bounds of the law in an attempt to get what he's up to." Had failed to accomplish in the constitutional legislative process. "
Pelosi and Schumer said they would use "all available remedies" to oppose Trump's statement. New York State Attorney General Letitia James said her office would challenge Trump in court. "We will not defend this abuse of power and we will fight with all the legal tools at our disposal," wrote James on Twitter.
Some Republicans have also blamed this initiative for creating a dangerous precedent, which could embolden a future Democratic president to declare the urgency of a pet-related cause, such as climate change or control. firearms.
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